A new scenario based learning exercise has been developed to aid Student Constables in the complexities of dealing with sudden deaths. The main priority for a Police Officer is the preservation of life, however, there are countless considerations an Officer should take into account when entering, navigating, and searching a property and dealing with the body. When arriving at a sudden death an Officer will not know whether the circumstances surrounding the death are suspicious, so preservation of evidence and the scene are also of paramount importance. The exercise will bring all of these learning objectives together in a virtual reality scenario where the narrative changes depending on the decisions made throughout the learning. The scenario will be cascaded through multiple projectors onto simulator screens in order to achieve additional vicarious learning and facilitation through the tutors.
As Technology Enhanced Learning Officer for South Wales Police, the title of my conference was chosen out of sheer frustration in the way the new Initial Police Learning (IPL) programme is delivered. The new six month programme of learning is delivered almost entirely didactically through the medium of Powerpoint. Only 8% is practical based or delivered via the medium of technology. I am keen to help educate educators that individuals can benefit greatly from learning through the medium of technology.
The project spans both innovation and implementation but it sits more comfortably with the latter due to the fact that the driving simulator has needed to be physically dismantling, rebuilt and repurposed to house the scenario. Also, the new training delivery method will need implementing into the IPL curriculum as part of a blended learning approach.
Socially individuals in the Experience Age are increasingly using platforms which are multimedia based. Instagram and Snapchat are on the rise as they allow the users to experience information as opposed to just reading it. ‘As educators who teach in the experience age, we must embrace and leverage better
methods to deliver the most effective learning experiences.’ E.Hu-Au and J.J. Lee, (2017). Delivering learning solely via Powerpoint is not conducive to effective and engaging learning experiences. The VR Sudden Death exercise will provide both student and tutor relief from the repetitive didactic delivery of Powerpoint and will give learners an engaging experience which will satisfy the inquisitive, constructivist learners within.
My presentation will provide some insight into how individuals in the Experience Age share and divulge media-rich content and the arguments for providing it in learning. Also I will divulge my own near sudden death experience when dismantling the driving simulator! You will also get to experience the learning itself. Join me at 20:15 on Monday 17th February to learn how to destroy your Powerpoint demons and deliver learning demanded by learners in the Experience Age.
Poster
https://360.articulate.com/review/content/f0381086-8b1e-49dd-80c1-d2c3e46ef617/review
References
Elliot Hu-Au* and Joey J. Lee (2017) ‘Virtual reality in education: a tool for learning in the experience age’ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324704089_Virtual_reality_in_education_a_tool_for_learning_in_the_experience_age (Accessed 19th December 2019)
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Really looking forward to hearing more about the work you are doing Adam. It will be interesting to see how your project unfolds and what changes occur as a result.
Conference Questions
Hi Adam
)
Here are the questions and comments from your conference presentation - please respond in whatever way you wish!
Best wishes
Simon
(PS - I'm actually looking forward to viewing the recording of your presentation - for some reason your PPT totally screwed my machine, your slides never loaded at all (don't worry, they did for everyone else, I checked with Rhona at the time) and even the sound kept dropping out! As soon as the next speaker started everything was fine again! The demons of PowerPoint strike again!
Conference Questions
I thought something was up Simon, I really struggled to hear your questions at the end and your audio kept cutting out. I thought it was something my end. Glad everyone else got to see them at least.
Cheers
Ad
Responses to questions posed on the conference
Its mainly down to the speed in which the curriculum has had to be written. So everything has just been blitzed using Powerpoint and the tutors are so busy (especially since Boris' Police Officer Uplift Programme) that there is simply not an opportunity to look at including alternative methods. So I am doing my best at trying to help out and including technology or help encourage practical exercises where I can.
We have a number of 'old school' tutors who are either towards the end of their service or have retired and returned as police staff tutors. They are firm believers that to learn the students need to "sit back and listen." This frustrates me greatly!
When VR is done right it can be phenomenal. I developed a 'VR Custody Visit' towards the end of 2017 for our students and the feedback was astonishing, they absolutely loved it. Little touches in VR can make a huge difference to immersion. I purchased a manikin from Amazon (stay with me
), dressed it in police uniform, cut off its head and fastened a 360 camera and mount to its neck. Then I filmed around the Custody suite. When students put on the headsets and looked down they saw "their uniform" and "shoulders" so felt that little bit more real.
This is the source of all of the issues. When the College of Policing announced its apprenticeship scheme or PEQF to be formal (Policing Education Qualifications Framework), they simply released the learning outcomes that had to be hit. No learning material, no guidance, no criteria, just the learning objective. This meant that the 43 forces would each have their own curriculums and learning materials which could vastly differ from each others. 43 Forces duplicating the same work!
If I am totally honest, I had no clue that simulation conferences were even a thing, I will look into this, thanks.
We have already seen huge success with our PCSO programme and their VR crime prevention exercises for vulnerable members of the public who are repeat victims of crime
As of this morning, new Student Constables from South Wales Police AND Gwent Police will be undertaking the exercise (once it is finished). This is a significant win in terms of openness in Policing!!!
Completely agree, I am up against it in terms of time scales as I have the College of Policing coming down in March and I am hoping they will look favourably upon it
H818 Presentation Star
Congratulations Adam!
Your presentation at the H818 Online Conference 2020 has been voted by audience members as one of the most effective presentations, and you are one of the winners of this year's Presentation Star awards!
You may download your award certificate from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ey8s191fuBCghPcC3Y4dn0Q6wYs7o9VL
Well done and many Congratulations!
Simon Ball
H818 Conference Organiser